Does Dehydration Cause Cramps and Heat Illness?

[scotts]

Hi Ellen. Thanks for the numbers and thanks to apage as well.

I think you probably mean half a teaspoon for 1000mg though? Half a tablespoon is alot.

When I hike I often add a large pinch of salt to a quart bottle of water. Seems to help.

[Ellen]

Howdy Scotts

Yikes thanks for catching my error. Need to proof read Yes, it's a teaspoon.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

[guest]

Hi,

Not all salts are equal, the less processed & refined salts have naturally occurring minerals, (in trace amounts), while the processed ones have chemicals you don't want in your body. If one is eating the SAD (standard Am diet), their consuming far too much refined sodium.

Ellen, Scotts is a different guy than me, confusing I know!

Googling: Are all salts equal, will bring up some interesting info, Dr Mercola has numerous articles about salt, as do others in the nutritional field. The old idea re. high blood pressure, may be in part due to removing some important minerals during processing, but is also been debunked in other ways.

As Agape mentioned, having enough potassium, (& magnesium & calcium) are important for the balance necessary for proper hydration & muscle function.
One product, E-Lyte, has high levels of all of these, with little else, as their reasoning is electrolytes are more quickly & easily absorbed w/.out the presence of carbs, (which most electrolyte products have).

ss

[Ed]

My head is spinning, I can't understand this stuff!

As someone who has published peer-reviewed papers in the best journals in my field, I tend to be skeptical of this or that study, as I am familiar with some of the games played to have another line on your vitae. And the medical fields are said to be worse than others. Well, that's my excuse for not trying to understand this stuff better.

I used to have muscle cramps. Not when I was hiking, they hit me after when I was at home, lying on the couch or in bed. Very painful and disabling, I worried about having one while driving home, though that never happened. Then I read a post by Ellen where she recommended PowerBar Perform, or some earlier version with another name. I started using it and now the cramps are so rare that I consider the problem solved. The taste puts me off, so I use half the recommended dose, and carry one quart of pure water. Seems to work fine. Perhaps the salty Mac and fries I often have after a hike also helps (I'm too old to worry about the long-term effects of what I eat).

[scotts]

You see alot of muscle cramps in basketball players, pro and college. I think exertion is the main reason there, as they seem to be drinking plenty of fluids on the bench. Maybe too much gatorade, which is over sugared by about 100% IIRC.

Hey ss. I think we have the same first name and last initial.

I sometimes add 'lite salt' (potassium chloride) to water along with regular salt (sodium chloride). I've also read that baking soda adds something -- at one point I figured a pinch of the salt / baking soda tooth powder I was experimenting with would make a reasonable electrolyte addition.

All in moderation, because I don't want to risk imbalance, and am not really pushing extremes or looking for a magic bullet.

I usually count on my regular diet (bananas, potatos) for good sources of potassium.